For those that want to create a mentoring program within their own organization, here are three key factors to consider to implement this effectively:

Determine what your organization plans to accomplish through a mentoring program. For example, while it may be expensive to offer a strong employee benefits package, differentiating yourself by offering a mentoring program to help employees excel in their careers with your company can help to attract, retain, and develop talent.

What will be your strategy for holding employees accountable to the mentoring program? Designating someone within your organization to serve as the manager of the mentoring program can assist with matching up mentor/mentee pairs as well as providing support for the relationships when necessary. Generally, employees within the HR realm of your organization already have the necessary people skills to handle such a task.

Training is necessary in order for the program participants to understand what a mentoring relationship is all about. Make sure that participants understand that mentoring is about building a relationship, not coaching.